Is social media a productive platform for political discourse?
Yes
Side Score: 1
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No
Side Score: 6
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1
point
Yes. Most people know jack about politics and want some leads towards the truth at election time. So...I present you? The cold hard TRUTH- Side: Yes
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3
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1
point
It depends on what is meant by social media. The internet certainly can be a platform for great discussion - but many current incarnations of "social media" aren't generally conducive for in depth political discussion. Focusing on short messages, or discussions with friends and family are less favorable for in-depth politics. In part the problem isn't the platform, but the culture - social media is still fairly nascent compared to most other forms of communication and people still need to develop their skills in this realm - using reliable sources, handling the volume of new information, etc. etc. Side: No
Of all options that exist as a channel for political discourse, I think social media is the least productive means. With social media, the meme is king. No other place have I ever seen people carelessly share "information" of which they have not researched at all for themselves. On top of this misinformation, most people cannot be swayed in their own position, at least not through the use of linked articles from questionable sources or possibly inaccurate memes. Social media aside, the internet as a whole is not the best place for discourse. I do appreciate sites like this or other forums because - for the most part - people are at least writing their own responses, and in some rare instances people can even engage in civil discourse. Because these instances are quite rare, I still don't see it as a productive means. If you really want productive political discourse, befriend someone with different opinions than yours whom you can actually sit face-to-face with and talk it out. Side: No
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